Recent Events

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Recent Events

Kilmarnock Tennis Club

Every Thursday Kilmarnock Tennis club will be providing coaching sessions within Kilmarnock Academy P.E department for the following:

•  Primary 3-4  from 3.30-4.30 at a cost of £36 per block of 12 weeks
•  Primary 5-7 from 4.30-5.30 at a cost of £36 per block of 12 weeks

This will be delivered by Kilmarnock tennis club coach David Knox please call on 07826 926076 for more information.

Recent Events

Active Darvel – Let’s get Darvel Moving!

ACTIVE DARVEL is a wide and varied activity programme organised by Darvel Primary School in partnership with Active Schools, Community Recreation and Leisure Development.

The exciting ACTIVE DARVEL programme was launched at the start of the school year. Pupils are able to experience a wide variety of fun activities which are held in the Gavin Hamilton Sports Centre adjacent to the school. ACTIVE DARVEL runs every day after school for P2 – P7.  Primary 1 pupils will have the opportunity to participate in the programme later in the year.  Darvel PS teachers, volunteers and qualified coaching staff aim to deliver a range of activities from dodgeball to cheerleading!

Active Darvel is currently in its second block of sports and activities. This block includes activities such as volleyball, handball, uni-hoc andassault courses! It is an excellent opportunity for our pupils to stay fit and healthy and experience fun activities in a safe environment which has been fully endorsed by the school!

Congratulations to Sands Christie who came up with the fantastic slogan to accompany the ACTIVE DARVEL logo. This will be used in all future marketing of the ACTIVE DARVEL programme. The ACTIVE DARVEL programme is an excellent opportunity for our pupils to stay fit and healthy through fun activities in a safe environment.

Extreme Valley Riders

Recent Events

Patna Receives 2014 Community Grant

Patna primary were successful in receiving £958  from the 2014 community fund to run a football and netball league for all the primaries in the cluster.  Pupils from P5-7 now compete in a monthly Doon Football and Netball league which is held at Patna Primary school and Panta games hall.  Over 60 children participate in the monthly event and enjoy every minute of it! 

Recent Events

Fresher’s Week

[SinglePic not found]During the summer break Active School Coordinators Marc Wilson and Lynsey Hogg organised a “Fresher’s Week” for all new S1 pupils attending St Joseph’s Academy in August. The aim of the event was for the pupils to make new friends, gain new experiences, and familiarise themselves with the school and it’s facilities.

Active Schools would like to thank the following partners for their input Ayrshire Gymnastics, Phoenix Tae Kwon Do, Ayroc Orienteering, and Rock-It Ball Scotland. Active Schools would also like to thank Head-Teacher Alan Ward and Head of S1 Ben Davis for making the event possible.

Head-Teacher Alan Ward said of the event:

“Fresher’s Week was a great occasion for the pupils of St Joseph’s Academy to come together and ensure the smooth transition into Secondary. The event focused on team-building and making the pupils more confident in their new surroundings”

Recent Events

Young Ambassadors

East Ayrshire Young Ambassadors, Jenna Holland and Robert Shaw – S5 pupils from Auchinleck Academy – attended their first National Young Ambassadors conference at Ratho International Climbing Centre recently.

As part of a national programme, which is supported by Adidas and the Youth Sport Trust, the Council’s Active School Co-ordinators recruited two Young Ambassadors from each secondary school in East Ayrshire to help promote school sport. Jenna and Robert were selected to attend the national conference where they attended workshops which provided them with information and inspiration to actively promote sport and specifically promote the values of the Olympic Games.

Councillor Kathy Morrice, Spokesperson for Improving Community Health and Wellbeing said: “Our young ambassadors had a fantastic experience at Edinburgh meeting both Commonwealth and Olympic athletes who proved to be a real inspiration to our ambassadors. As part of the workshops the young people at the conference were asked to choreograph a Young Ambassador’s dance and I am very pleased to say that Jenna won best dance. Her choreographed moves have been named Scotland’s Young Ambassadors dance and will be available on the Olympics website – www.london2012.com

“Jenna and Robert will now be making a presentation to East Ayrshire’s Young Ambassadors outlining what they have learned at the conference and how best they can promote sport within their own schools.”

Pupils Get Fresh at Auchinleck Academy

[SinglePic not found]Starting first year at Auchinleck Academy next week may not be such a daunting prospect now for pupils who attended a ‘Fresher’s Week’ event held at the school recently.

The fun-packed three-day event saw the young people taking part in a variety of activities including sports, dance, karate and music to help them get to know others who hadn’t been at their primary school. They also enjoyed team building activities and an orienteering quiz designed to help them find their way around their new school!

Councillor Jim Roberts, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “Fresher’s Week was a great way for pupils to meet others they didn’t already know who’ll be attending the Academy with them next week. They were able to discuss any issues they had and have their questions answered and I’m sure they will all feel more confident now as they begin the next important stage of their education.”

Recent Events

Summer Activity Programme

P1-3 pupils at Onthank, New Farm & Silverwood Primary Schools enjoyed three days each of fun games & activities during the Summer Break. Aprroximately 130 individual participant sessions were recorded during the 2nd, 3rd & 4th week of the summer holidays with the children enjoyiong various activities from Tig games to rounders and relay races to dodgeball. Feedback from an anonymous parent said “I think it was great…same again next year would be brilliant.” Whilst another parent wrote their child was “Disappointed it’s not on again next week.”

Onthank Victory

Onthank Primary came out on top at this year’s East Ayrshire’s Primary Schools Sportshall Athletics Championships. The final saw the four finalist teams from Onthank, Dalmellington, Hurlford and Catrine Primary Schools competing to be crowned the 2011 Primary Sportshall Champions. 34 teams comprising over 544 primary five pupils competed in local heats for a place in the final which was held at the Galleon Leisure Centre. The heats consisted of indoor throwing, jumping and running events where the young athletes tried to gain as many points as possible in order to win a place for their team in the final.

Only the top four teams from the heats – two from the north and two from the south of East Ayrshire – can qualify for the final. The final proved to be very exciting and each team enjoyed overwhelming support from classmates, family and friends who filled the sports hall with their cheers! All four teams put in an impressive performance but the versatile athletics team from Onthank Primary had the edge over its rivals and stayed in the lead position throughout the final.

Depute Provost John Campbell said: “My congratulations go to Onthank Primary School for winning the championship. It’s a real achievement for the pupils who obviously worked and trained hard during the weeks running up to the competition. There is no doubt that there are young talented sports people in the school and I look forward to watching them compete in the national arena in the future!”

New Farm Stand Tall

The Mini Basketball championship came to an electrifying end recently with four schools battling to be crowned 2011 Primary Seven Mini Basketball League Champions at the Kelvinhall, Glasgow – home of the Glasgow Rocks, Scotland’s only professional basketball team. 190 pupils from 19 schools throughout East Ayrshire had fought hard during the season for a place in the final and the four teams who travelled to Glasgow were New Farm Primary, Mauchline Primary, Fenwick Primary and Dalmellington Primary. The Grand Final saw New Farm edging out Dalmellington Primary in a nail-biting match. With end to end action, this match was an excellent demonstration of how primary school basketball should be played. In the end, New Farm defeated a strong Dalmellington team 2-0.

Scott Russell, Pro Player with the Glasgow Rocks was impressed by the quality of play. He said: “Having seen many primary school finals at Kelvinhall Arena, this definitely ranks as one of the best. Basketball, particularly in East Ayrshire, has been strong for a number of years and hopefully this will continue.”

Councillor Hugh Ross, Spokesperson for Promoting Lifelong Learning said: “Education isn’t just about learning in the classroom it is about giving our young people opportunities and encouraging them to become successful learners and confident individuals. This event is a real inspiration for our young people and I would like to congratulate the teams and of course their teachers on their success.”

LEAD Conference

Four pupils from James Hamilton Academy attended the 2014 LEAD Conference at Strathclyde University recently hoping to learn new skills to aid them in organising and running a Glasgow 2014 activity / sports festival within their schools across East Ayrshire. For more information, please click the NEWS page. Picture above are Fairlie Bolton (Blue), Lauren Sloan (Red), Ross Dunachie (Green) & Dale Fraser (Yellow).

They Feel Like Dancing

Active Schools Coordinators Gordon Cunningham and Ryan Rodger have been running a dance club with a difference at a local primary school. Said Gordon: “It is different from a lot of other after-school clubs in the sense that the two girls who lead the class are James Hamilton Academy senior pupils doing their Community Sports Leadership Award. Dance enthusiasts Fairlie Bolton and Gemma Mackie, both 17, are required to deliver ten hours of lessons to complete their course, yet thesegirls are so dedicated that they have been doing an hour a week every Tuesday at New Farm Primary School with P4 –7 pupils since last September.”

The Community Sports Leadership Award enables candidates to lead groups of people in activities, under indirect supervision.

Visiting the dance club, Councillor Hugh Ross, Spokesperson for Lifelong Learning, said: “The club really is excellent. This is yet another creative, healthy initiative by Active Schools, helping children keep fit and have fun at the same time. I also commend the secondary pupils pursuing their Leadership Awards.  It is a worthwhile qualification, which teaches leadership skills such as organisation, communication and teamwork through the medium of sport.”

Gordon Cunningham added: “All the dancers now have t-shirts as rewards for attending each week and are working hard to pull together a number of dance routines for performance to the whole school – which should be well worth seeing!”

2014 Communities Funding Bid Successful

The James Hamilton Learning Community is celebrating another successful bid for the £1000 grant offered by 2014 Communities Fund. This grant was submitted on behalf of Silverwood Primary in Kennedy Drive, Kilmarnock to allow a group of children to attend a taster day of sailing activities at Sport Scotland National Centre for Water sports at Cumbrae. The group of 35 primary 7 pupils will participate in dinghy sailing, wind-surfing and kayaking in mid June on the island of Millport.

This bid comes on the back of a previous successful bid (also to the value of £1000) which allowed approximately 80 children from New Farm Primary School to receive three 2 hour skiing lessons between January-March at Newmilns Snow & Sports Complex.

Recent News

Easter Olympics

During the Easter holidays these children from the Stewarton Learning Community took part in their very own Olympic Games.  Over three days the children had the chance to do judo, badminton, football, athletics, taekwondo, basketball, karate, boccia and bootcamp!  This programme was available to the children free of charge thanks to the generosity of local volunteers and coaches from Cluarankwai Judo, Phoenix Taekwondo, Hokushin Karate, Fit4Moore and Kilmarnock College. 

Stewarton Rock-it-Ball Club

Following successful after school clubs Stewarton is now home to the third rock-it-ball club in Scotland!  The club, for children and adults, takes place at the Community Centre on a Thursday from 5-6pm (children) and 6-7 pm (adults).  All equipment is be provided and the club is very reasonably priced at £2 for children and £3 for adults.  For further information please contact Laura by phone or email.

Recent News

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Hi, I’m Cheryl Brady and I’ve been an Active Schools Manager since April 2005.

My background is in Soical Policy & Sociology at Glasgow University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Community Education from Strathclyde University which led to me being a manager in Glasgow City Council Youth Services for 7 years before Active Schools.

I’m passionate about all different types of sport and have played football for many years, plus I enjoy running, badminton, hillwalking, kayaking and the gym. 

Please use the details below to contact me if you’re interested in volunteering or simply wish to find out more about Active Schools in East Ayrshire:

Cheryl Brady
Active Schools Manager
East Ayrshire Council
Rennie Street Offices
Rennie Street
Kilmarnock KA1 3AR

Phone: 01563 555650
Email: cheryl.brady@east-ayrshire.gov.uk